Kolkata, March 15 – The Election Commission has appointed the Municipal Commissioner as the District Election Officer (DEO) for North Kolkata, a senior government official said on Sunday.
The name of the North Kolkata DEO was finalized before the announcement of the West Bengal Assembly election schedule.
Currently, IAS officer Sumit Gupta holds the position of Commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. With the Election Commission's decision, he will be responsible for discharging the duties of the District Election Officer for North Kolkata during this election.
Usually, the Election Commission appoints the District Magistrate of the respective district as the DEO. However, the rule differs in the case of Kolkata. Since Kolkata does not have a District Magistrate, this responsibility is usually assigned to an IAS-rank officer from a specific government department. In other words, the duty was not previously vested in a specific, designated office holder. However, this arrangement has now been formalized.
The Election Commission has directly appointed the Commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation as the DEO for North Kolkata.
Sources said the Election Commission is likely to announce the dates for the Assembly elections later in the day. However, prior to this, the Commission's full bench – led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar – visited West Bengal.
They reviewed the election preparations and held several meetings with both the administration and the police. At the same time, they also held meetings with the state's recognized political parties.
According to sources within the Election Commission, the election could be held in West Bengal in two to three phases. The announcement is likely to be made at a press conference in the national capital at around 4 p.m. on Sunday.
However, ahead of the formal poll notification announcement, the Election Commission has finalized the District Election Officer (DEO) for North Kolkata.